Rapture Of Hearts: Knight In Shining Armor
by Cassidy S. Waters
Summary: Terra finds herself in Dalmasca, and the one person she has been looking for is standing right in front of her.


**Rapture Of Hearts: Knight In Shining Armor**

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><p>Terra didn't understand what she was seeing.<p>

Or, she couldn't describe what she was seeing.

It was like the air in front of her was compressing and expanding at the same time, swirling in some kind of invisible wind that Terra could neither see nor feel. She approached it slowly, feeling a sudden wave of heat hit her face as she drew closer.

Finally, she reached out, the heated wave of disconnected air causing the hairs on her arm to rise and goosebumps to appear. Her hand also disappeared, yet was still there, like looking through foggy water. Terra heard noises. People, foot falls, clanking of metal. But then something more caught her ear. It was a voice. A voice she recently remembered.

Without a second thought, she dove into the portal, leaving her world behind.

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><p>All around her was the hustle and bustle of city life. People and reptilian creatures walked through the streets, carrying on with their daily lives, completely unaware of the new comer in their mist.<p>

Well, almost everyone.

"Terra?"

Terra turned to look at the boy standing in front of her. He had tanned skin, blond hair, and gray eyes, wearing only a loose cropped open vest held together by a pendant over his chest and dark pants are held up by a red ribboned sash belt, and are tucked into his steel boots, which came up to his knees. Terra then knew who she was staring at, although she was unsure. But yet, how did this boy know her name . . ?

"Terra?" the boy repeated, taking a hesitant step forward. He held out his hand to her, as if unsure on how to approach. Terra noted that he looked slightly nervous. Perhaps her sudden appearance here frightened him? Or maybe he was unsure of what to make of her being here. Terra decided to do the only thing she could. She spoke to him.

"Vaan?" was all she could ask. It sounded silly, because all she said was his name with a question mark, just as he did twice before with her own name.

But apparently it was the right move, because Vaan broke into a huge, cheesy grin and exclaimed, "It IS you! Oh, man, I was worried I had messed up your name, but I didn't! Thank goodness."

Terra found herself smiling, too, but not as big as his. It comforted her that she had also gotten his identity right, or else she would have died of embarrassment right there. But that wasn't the only reason she smiled. She had finally found her knight in shining armor, quite literally, in fact. Not that she minded either way, of course.

Vaan reached out with his already out-stretched hand, holding hers into his, still grinning. "Come on, don't just stand there! We need to get going!"

Terra's eyebrows shot up. "Going? Going where?"

Vaan's eyebrows knitted a bit in frustration. "Well, actually, I need to get going, but you can come with while I'm doing my chores."

"Oh, I see." Terra followed Vaan, listening to him rant over the chores he has to complete. Apparently, Vaan is now a Sky pirate along with his childhood friend Penelo, whom he assures Terra she'll like her. Terra watched as they passed numerous stores, though they did not stop at any of them. Finally, Vaan halted in front of an unmarked door. Terra looked at it for a second before asking, "What's that?"

Vaan grinned. "A secret hideout for hunters." He winked slyly. "Only certain folks can get in. Like me."

"Really?" Terra now looked at the door in awe. "How did you get in?"

"Knew some people." Vaan placed a hand on her shoulder. "Wait here, kay? I'm not supposed to be like non-members in. I'll be right back." He trotted in afterward, leaving Terra alone in the streets of an unknown world.

In a daze, Terra just stood there, her eyes hardly wandering around, just trying to think everything through. Suddenly she went from the village of children to here. But she didn't know what 'here' was. All she knew was that this was Vaan's home.

_Well, it can't be all bad_, Terra thought. After all, this was Vaan's home world. He would know where to go and the like. It wasn't like in Dissidia, where both were foreigners. Terra began to twirl a lock of her hair around a finger when something furry with a red pompom caught her attention. It appeared to be a white rabbit with a pompom sticking out of its head. But when she heard a familiar 'kupo,' she moved in.

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><p>When Vaan returned from the hunter guild, he unfortunately found Terra fur-fluffing a moogle once more. Running over to her, he said, "Terra, no! Don't just cuddle every moogle you see."<p>

Remembering herself, Terra blushed, releasing the moogle. "I-I'm sorry. I just can't help myself sometimes. I wasn't expecting to see moogles." She bowed to the moogle in front of her, who was busy fussing over his fur. "I'm terribly. I love moogles and . . ." Her already red face reddened further. "I just can't help myself."

"Oh, that's alright, kupo," the moogle said kindly. "Just next time you want to fur-fluff a moogle, warn them ahead of time, kupo. Some of my kind isn't as forgiving as me." He winked, then hopped away.

Terra covered her face with her hands shamefully. "Vaan, I'm sorry. I should have been more—" But she was stopped mid sentence when Vaan touched her shoulder gently. "S'okay," Vaan said, smiling. "The moogle forgave you, though I'd probably follow his advice. The leader of the hunter guild I'm in is a moogle, and I don't think he'd like you fur-fluffing him."

"Oh, you're right. Of course." It made her feel a little better to know everything was fine again, but she still knew she'd have to tread carefully in this world. This world's moogles were, and in no offense to other moogles, far cuter and fluffier than any she'd seen previously.

Taking her by the hand, Vaan then said, "Come on. I still need to complete my chores." He winked, and Terra found herself smiling. Together they ran through the streets, stopping occasionally at stores to pick things up. Vaan would explain what each store carried, and Terra was surprised that this world had magic as a natural gift.

When they reached theSandSea, that's when things began to get interesting. The apparent owner immediately picked Vaan out from the group of customers and came to his side. Then he noticed Terra.

"Well, well," he said, eyeing her curiously. "Wha'cha got there, Vaan? Your girlfriend?"

"What?" Vaan asked, shocked. Terra merely blinked in surprise. This was a first. No one had ever accused of being someone's girlfriend before. But it felt . . . kinda nice. Of course, it would have been nicer if Vaan had actually agreed.

"Now hold on a second," Vaan insisted. "Terra is not my girlfriend. She's just a . . ." He paused, looking at her. Terra stared back at him in return for a few seconds before he turned back. "She's just a really good friend."

"How long you've known each other?" the man asked.

"Umm . . ." Vaan and Terra looked helplessly at each other. "A few days, I guess," Vaan finally answered.

The owner of theSandSeasnorted loudly. "So, she is your girlfriend."

"Argh, is not!" Vaan's face was beginning to turn red. Terra also realized her own face was red also, but she kept her head low so as not to attract attention. Suddenly, the shop owner asked, "What do you think, miss? Are you or are you not Vaan's girlfriend?"

Terra looked up, surprised. She honestly didn't know what to say. To admit to be his girlfriend would surely embarrass him, but to say no would deny something deep with her heart.

Her knight in shining armor.

Hesitantly, she said, "Well . . . I guess we're friends. I mean, we haven't known each other that long." She heard Vaan sigh beside her. She might have saved Vaan's dignity for today, but she also stepped on her own heart.

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><p>The chores were almost done when Terra asked the question.<p>

"Do you like someone, Vaan?"

Vaan halted, pulling back from the stand he had been looking at. "Hmm?" he asked.

Terra hesitantly repeated, "Do you like someone, Vaan?"

"Like? Like, as in friends?"

"Well . . . not necessary."

"Hmm." Vaan crossed his arms. "No. I mean, Ashe and I are just friends. Penelo is like a sister to me. We grew up together, you know. And, uh . . ." He scratched his head in embarrassment. "I think Fran's a little old for me," he joked.

Terra felt herself subconsciously sigh in relief. Then Vaan popped the question. "Why do you ask? Do you like someone?"

"Huh?" Terra jerked herself upright, shocked. Vaan's face was not demanding nor suspicious, just curious. Genuine curiosity. But the feeling of dread crept into her chest along with feelings of . . . joy, maybe? These emotions stuck in her thought, refusing to let her speak properly.

"Um . . . well . . . I was just . . . I don't really . . . The thing is . . . It's actually kinda funny, really . . ." Terra tried everything she could think of. She tried to make a joke of the thing, like Tidus, but she couldn't even get the humor across without stumbling over every other word. She tried to be blunt about it, like the Warrior, but the words once more got stuck in her throat. She tried Cecil's way, Firion's way, the boy's way, Cloud's way, Zidane's way, and even Bartz' way. But nothing worked. Finally giving up, Terra silenced her stuttering chatter, head slumped.

Vaan then spoke. "So, what you're trying to say is you like someone, right?"

Terra looked up, surprised. Vaan's kind eyes were looking at her with a gentle gleam. "So, who's the lucky guy?" he asked, smiling. "Come on, you can tell me. I won't tell."

"Well, actually," Terra said, looking away. She pulled her hand near her chin, eyes cast downward before turning to face her knight. "The guy is . . . you."

Vaan blinked. He blinked again for good measure, then shook his head. "Uh, I'm sorry," he replied, slapping his ear. "I must not of hear right. Did you just say you like . . . me?"

"Well, yes, I did." Terra looked away, feeling ridiculously suddenly. Vaan continued to stare at her. The seconds ticked away without much of a reaction.

Then Vaan finally broke the silence, like he always seems to do.

"So, you like me, right?"

Terra nodded.

"As in, like like? Or like as a friend?"

Terra felt her throat grow tight, but she managed to croak, "Like like."

"Really?" Vaan tilted his head in, at least she thought so, a cute fashion. Then he held his chin in the palm of his hand for a moment, pondering. "Huh." Lowering his arms and letting them swing, he stared absently into space as he answered, "Well, if it's any measure . . . I think you're kinda, I don't know, cute?"

_Cute?_ Terra thought, perplexed. _He thinks I'm cute?_ Her heart began to thump with joy. _He actually thinks I'm CUTE!_ She wanted to jump in glee, but she contained herself, just along enough to reply, "I think you're kinda cute, too."

He arched an eyebrow at her. "Kinda?"

Terra giggled. "No, you're right. I think you're very cute. Very handsome, too."

Vaan blushed to this. "H-handsome? You . . . you think I'm—"

Terra merely nodded, smiling.

Vaan got this distant look in his eye, something she recognized as floating on Cloud Nine. She just wished she could join him up there, wherever it was. Suddenly, he returned, but there was a new light in his eyes this time. Gingerly, he took her hand, saying, "Come with me. I want to show you something."

Terra let her knight in shining armor run away with her in toll, faithfully following her crush's feet.

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><p>Finally, they stopped running. They had run past the stands, the busy people, the stores. They had descended down a series of stairs. They ran past more people, more buildings. Now they were alone, sitting on top of a rock in the sandy desert reaching out towards the sky.<p>

Clasping his hands behind his back, he had a mischievous smile on his face. Terra wondered what was going through his mind. Taking small steps forward and unhooking his arms, Vaan took both of Terra's hands and looked deep into her eyes. "Follow my lead," was all he said. Terra blinked, then smiled and nodded. Slowly, they turned their heads, looking out into the vast desert.

A strange sight then caught her eye. She stared, her eyes hopefully not telling lies. She liked through the corners of her eyes to see Vaan's face. He was seeing the same, watching in awe and wonder. She looked out again, then found a smile growing on her face. Vaan was smiling, and together they stared at what their future together could be like.

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><p><strong>CS: Based off of this image from my lovely friend, and fellow WolxLightning and VaanxTerra fan, lacrimadoll; .com#/d46uwb9**

**Gaomon: We own nothing. There.**

**Firion: Wow. Shortest conversation ever.**

**Envy: You came on a good day.**

**Dorumon: Hey, I wanna talk, too!**

**Nel: . . . Me, too!**


End file.
